2018 Back To The 50’s Painless Performance/STREET RODDER Top 100 Winners Part 2

Our gallery of the 10 Painless Performance/STREET RODDER Top 100 winning vehicles from the Back To The 50’s show in St. Paul continues with five more extraordinary rides.

As with the five cars and trucks revealed in Part 1, these final five prove that homebuilt, mid-budget, highway-driven street rods continue to be the mainstay of our hobby. They are out there drawing attention, winning awards, and providing satisfaction and enjoyment to the enthusiasts who build and drive them. All it takes is passion.

Thanks to the Minnesota Street Rod Association for organizing this amazing car show.

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STREET RODDER will post more winning vehicles in about a month when the Painless Performance/STREET RODDER Top 100 program lands in Upstate New York July for the Syracuse Nationals.

1947 Cadillac Convertible
Jack DeJoy
Prior Lake, MN

When Jack started planning about his twentieth homebuilt project, he decided to go big, building the ’47 Cadillac he had always wanted. The previous owner liked them stock, but Jack had a different idea. Exterior work includes the pancaked hood, filled cowl, shaved door and trunk handles, and House Of Kolor Blue Blood Red paint. The chassis was modified with a Nova subframe and T-Bird rear. The owner-designed interior features leather-covered squad car (steel structure) front seats with Thunderbird seats in the rear, Colorado Custom steering wheel, ’49 Cadillac dash, and a late-model Cadillac console. It’s Cadillac under the hood too, in the form of a 500ci inject engine with a GM 700R4 transmission and Ford 8.8-inch rearend putting power to the 16- and 17-inch Colorado Custom wheels and Hankook radials. Jack told us he is currently at work on a couple other cars. Not bad for an 80-year-old street rodder.

1959 Chevy Impala
Kyle Severin
Alexandria, MN

Kyle’s Crown Sapphire ’59 Impala was stock and partially restored when he bought it, and has been rebuilt as a 60s-inspired restomod cruiser. Some exterior trim was shaved and some was retained. The original-looking interior, with pieces from Ciadella Interior and upholstery by Weber’s Custom Interiors, is updated with Vintage Air A/C, Dakota Digital gauges, and modern audio components. Dropped spindles, RideTech shocks, and an AccuAir e-Level system contribute to the low posture. The tri-power 409 is bored 0.060 over and packed with Ross forged pistons, an Isky cam, roller rockers, and other performance internals. The trans is a Tremec TKO-500, and 3.55 gears turn in the factory Posi rearend. The chrome reverse wheels are from Wheel Smith and are matched with Diamond Back whitewalls. Kyle was helped by his brother Lance and father Les (whose custom Merc is another Back To The 50’s Top 100 pick from 2018).

1932 Ford Pickup
Mac McCullough
Wayzata, MN

Our Road Tour ’32 pickup debuted at this show, so we were excited to see its bright red cousin. Mac’s’32 came from California—all original, numbers matching, and rust free. It had been apart for years when he began its transformation into a traditional Sixties-style hot rod. He chose a Corvette 327/365 engine with camel hump heads to power the truck, with a 4-barrel carb and stainless exhaust with Porter mufflers to maintain the vintage style he wanted. It continues with a ’39 Ford three-speed tied to a Deuce rearend with 4.11 gears. The chassis is mostly ’32 with the original framerails, a chromed dropped axle, and shocks; Mac installed ’40 hydraulic brakes with chrome backing plates behind the ’40 Ford wheels. The piecrust bias-ply tires (including the spare) are Firestone from Coker. The bed features oak flooring The cab is distinguished by a pleated vinyl covered bench, an original ’32 steering wheel, and Classic Instruments gauges.

1964 Chevy C10
Stack Calhoun
Forest Lake, MN

Back To The 50’s was the place to see well-done trucks like Stack’s C10—that just made it under the 1964-and-earlier cut-off. Ivan Johnson and Charlie Nash at Nuff Sedd Customs honored the request to build something “timeless” and “classy.” Starting with a nice truck, they kept exterior changes low-key: deleted molding, hidden tailgate latches, cherry bed wood, and Seventies era C10 olive green paint “with a hot rod twist.” RideTech suspension components lower the body and bed over the well-proportioned 20-inch American Racing wheels. Two-tone pleated vinyl covers the bench seat. The interior boasts a custom wheel on a tilt column, Dolphin gauges, Vintage Air A/C, and a Jensen CD player. Stack says that the 450-horsepower 355 Chevy small-block and 700R4 move his C10 down the road at 2,000rpm at 75mph with both the A/C and stereo blasting. “It sounds like a muscle car but drives like a Cadillac!”

1934 Ford Fordor Sedan
Gary & Lisa Beskau
Hastings, MN

Gary and Lisa bought this ’34 Fordor 20 years ago, when they first got involved in the street rod hobby. After their daughter Allison married an auto body technician, Gary hired his son-in-law Greg Spakow at Master Blastings to “start over and do it our way,” with a frame off rebuild. Body mods include the one-piece front fenders and running boards, filled roof, and hood louvers, set off by PPG Cinnamon Candy paint over copper. Kelly tires on Billet Specialties Qualifier 5-spokes fill the fenders. Suede and leather bench seats (with original springs) fill the interior, facing a Billet Specialties wheel and Auto Meter gauges. The suspension is modernized with a Heidt’s frontend, and rear 4-link with coilovers. The Ford 9-inch runs 4.11 gears and locker. Under the hood, a 450-horse Chevy 350 is dressed up with an Edelbrock air cleaner and valve covers. The redone Fordor is getting lots of attention at shows and on the street.